Motif · from book 6

Ysalte

Goddess of Hopelessness and Insanity, level 250, once of the Dirt, then of Tears; the Semeru dwarves' only goddess, patron of outcasts and bards, half-sister and niece of her former lover Taranis, threatened with the Nothing by Apito and fled to Sheol; Amayon's ex and mother of his child. Sponsored by Pontifex Shine of the Nebular Balance and not driven, she arrives through Sister Ines's corpse as a young dwarf with a pickaxe and a flickering scream, turns every potion to vinegar, enslaves a Demon Prince — and is beheaded by her own totem. A memorial crystal waits on a future floor.

First appears: Book 6

Series arc

Through book 7

Arief is Despondent because his goddess is dead (B7 ch. 7); her potions became something else (B7 ch. 2); the Semeru rebuild her shattered statue, a pickaxe over her shoulder (B7 ch. 82, B7 ch. 85).

Through book 6

Amayon screams her name (B6 ch. 62); Mordecai warns that she is the Vinegar Bitch, who kills every crawler near her (B6 ch. 64); Louis is marked for death as she enters the realm (B6 ch. 65); she arrives dwarf-sized with a pickaxe (B6 ch. 66); she fights with an enhanced copy of the late Sister Ines's deck (B6 ch. 67); Paz Lo kills her (B6 ch. 69).

In the pantheon

Ysalte — hopelessness and insanity; once dirt, then tears; pantheon. Listed with the rest of the pantheon on the pantheon page.

Family and enemies

Relation	With	Source
linked-to (reversed)	Diwata	B5 ch. 62
kin-of	Taranis	B6 ch. 66
threatened-by	Apito	B6 ch. 66
sponsored-by	Pontifex Shine of the Nebular Balance	B6 ch. 66
consort-of	Amayon	B6 ch. 66
worshipped-by	the citizens of Larracos	B6 ch. 66
slain-by	Paz Lo, with the Bolt of Ophiotaurus	B6 ch. 69
killed-by	Paz	B7 ch. 85

Where they appear

Book	Chapters they are in (of the book's)	Where
6 — The Eye of the Bedlam Bride	8/74	Ch. 62, Ch. 64, Ch. 65, Ch. 66, Ch. 67, Ch. 69, Ch. 71, Ch. 72 · the book's own page
7 — This Inevitable Ruin	3/89	Ch. 7, Ch. 53, Ch. 85 · the book's own page

By book

Ysalte in book 6 — The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

A prince's scream — 'Ysalte, I will flay you again' — and a name Carl half remembers (ch. 62); Mordecai's briefing: she is called the Vinegar Bitch (ch. 64); a marked man (ch. 65); a dwarf with a pickaxe (ch. 66); a deck (ch. 67); her head off, by her own totem, and a memorial crystal for a future floor (ch. 69).

Ysalte in book 7 — This Inevitable Ruin

Arief is Despondent because his goddess is dead (ch. 7); her potions became something else (ch. 2); the Semeru rebuild her shattered statue, a pickaxe over her shoulder (ch. 82, ch. 85).